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BE SKILLFUL TEAM BUILDING

(26) and thence sailed to Antioch, from whence they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled. (27) And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles. (28) And there they abode long time withthe disciples.

Testament pictures God as the builder of his redeemed people (Jer. 33:7-9). The New

Testament casts Christians as God’s house, with Jesus as the Master builder (Heb.

3:3-6).God permits Christians a role as fellow builders, who work with him and

contributes to the growth of other believers. Ephesians 4:12-16 describes the church,

its members bound together in unity that is experienced through love, growing and

building itself up, as each part does its work.

(6). Mature, Maturity: Spoken of persons who achieves the goal of Christian growth,

who are “grownup” spiritually. The mature Christian, is one who by obedience to

God, has trained himself to distinguish good from evil (Heb. 5:14). The mature

Christian presses on toward the goal of knowing Christ and becoming more like him

(Phil. 3:10-15), and makes a full commitment to do the will of God (Col. 4:12).

Paul and Barnabas returned to visit the believers in all the cities where they had recently been threatened and physically attacked. These men knew the dangers they faced, yet they believed they had a responsibility to encourage the new believers. No matter how inconvenient or uncomfortable the task may seem, we must always support new believers who need our help and encouragement. It was not convenient or comfortable for Jesus to go to the Cross for us.

Paul and Barnabas were persistent in their preaching of the Good News. They considered the cost to themselves to be nothing in comparison with obedience to Christ. At one point Jews from Antioch and Iconium tracked Paul down, stoned him, and left him for dead. But Paul got up and went back into the city and preached the Good News. That is true commitment!! Being a disciple of Christ calls for costly commitment. As Christians, we no longer belong to ourselves, but to our Lord for whom we are called to suffer.

Part of the reason Paul and Barnabas risked their lives to return to these cities was to organize the churches’ leadership. They helped believers get organized with spiritual leaders who could help them to grow. Churches grow under Spirit-led leaders, both laypersons and pastors. Pray for your church leaders and support them; and if God urges you, humbly accept the responsibility of a leadership role in your church.

When many people approve of us, we feel good, but that should never cloud our thinking or affect our decisions. We should not live to please the crowd—especially in our spiritual lives. Be like Jesus. Know the nature of the crowd and don’t put your trust in it. Put your trust in God alone.

We must never exclude anyone whom Christ has called to follow him. Acts 13:2-3 states “As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.” We too, should dedicate our pastors, missionaries, and Christian workers for their tasks. We can also dedicate ourselves with our time, money, and talents for God’s work. Ask God what he wants you to dedicate to him.

The church was involved in sending Saul and Barnabas off on their first missionary journey, but it was God’s plan. Saul and Barnabas were led by the Holy Spirit.

SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT:

Solomon requested it from God. Solomon asks for wisdom (“an understanding heart”) in order to lead well and make right decisions, not wealth, but God gave him riches and long life as well (I Ki.3:9-14). While God does not promise riches to those who follow him, he gives us what we need, if we put his Kingdom, his interests, his principles first (Matt. 6: 31-33). If you put God and his work first, he will satisfy your deepest needs.

Solomon received great wisdom from God, but it was up to him to apply that wisdom to all areas of his life. He was wise in governing the nation, but he was foolish in running his household. Wisdom is both the ability to discern what is best and the strength of character to act upon that knowledge. Solomon remained wise all his life, but he did not always act upon his wisdom (I Ki. 11:6). “And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord, as did David his father.”

While Solomon applied his wisdom to political affairs, he did not always apply it to his spiritual life. He knew the right way to live, but he did not always have to will to do it. Many people have enough wisdom to know the difference between right and wrong, but they do not always do right. We need to develop not only the wisdom to do right, but the will to do it.

We can ask God for this same wisdom. James 1:5 states “If any man lack wisdom, let him ask God, that giveth to all men liberally”…. By “wisdom” James is talking not only about knowledge, but about the ability to make wise decisions in difficult circumstances.

Whenever we need wisdom, we can pray to God and He will supply what we need. Christians never need to grope about in the dark, hoping to stumble upon answers. We can ask for God’s wisdom to guide our choices. Wisdom begins with respect for God, and leads to right living, and results in increased ability to tell right from wrong. God is willing to give us this wisdom, but we will be unable to receive it if our goals are self-centered instead of God-Centered. To learn God’s will we need to read God’s Word and ask Him to show us how to obey it.

Note, Solomon asked for wisdom to carry out his job, he did not ask God to do the job for him. We should not ask God to do for us what he wants to do through us. We should ask God to give us the wisdom to know what to do and the courage to follow through on it.

David prayed for spiritual discernment (Psalms 119:18), “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. “ Most of us rebel or reject ruled because we think they restrict us from doing what we want. God’s laws were given to free us to be all he wants us to be. They restrict us from doing those things that will cripple us and keep us from being our best. God’s guidelines help us to follow in his path and avoid paths that lead to destruction.

As we travel through life, the Bible should be our road map, pointing out safe routes, obstacles to avoid, and our final destination. We should view ourselves as pilgrim travelers, here on earth, that need to study God’s map to learn the way. If we ignore the map, we will wander aimlessly through life and risk missing our real destination.

A discerning spirit was sought by Daniel. (Daniel 7:15, 16) reads “I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body and the visions of my head troubled me. I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things.”If you feel as Daniel did about these prophecies, disturbed, and confused…recognize with him, that God has not yet revealed their full meaning. The full implication of these prophecies will not be known until God reveals them to his people.

God was able to use Daniel because Daniel was able to forgive Nebuchadnezzar for the wrong he had done him (Dan. 4:19).Very often when we have been wronged by someone, we find it difficult to forget the past. We may even be glad if that person suffers. Forgiving people means putting the past behind us. Ask God to help you forgive, forget and love. God may use you in an extraordinary way in that person’s life. If you feel wounded and torn by the events of your life, turn to God, so he can heal and comfort you.

You might be able to quote theology. You might have countless charts of Eschatology. There might be no end to the knowledge in your head—but until people see your heart, they won’t receive from you.

(Hosea 6:1) states “Come, and let us return unto the Lord, for he hath torn and he will

heal us; hath smitten and he will bind us up.” The people did not understand the depth of their sins. They did not turn from idols, pledge to change, or regret their sins. They thought God’s wrath would last only a few days; little did they know that their nation would be taken into exile. Israel was interested in God only for the material benefits that came from worshipping him.

Before judging them, however, consider your attitude. What do you hope to gain from your religion? Do you “repent” easily, without seriously considering what changes need to take place in your life? God had shown his faithfulness to Israel many times. They knew that if they sought to know him and his ways, he would reveal himself to them, and they were right (2:20).

The problem was they were so deep in sin they did not really want to know him. They wanted the benefits, but not his discipline or guidance.

Spiritual discernment is denied to the unregenerate. I Cor. 2:14 reads “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned.” Non-Christians cannot understand spiritual truths, and they cannot grasp the concept that God’s Spirit lives in believers. Don’t expect most people to approve of or understand your decision to follow Christ. It all seem silly to them. Just as a tone-deaf person cannot appreciate fine music, the person who rejects God cannot understand truths from God’s Spirit. The lines of communication are broken, and he cannot hear what God is saying to him.

The idea that man is a free moral agent is somewhat of a misconception. Paul told Timothy that men are taken captive by the enemy against their wills, as they are blinded and bound by Satan ((Tim.2; 26). That is why when the natural man hears the Word, it is foolishness to him.

Much of our witnessing is ineffective because we fail to pray, “Lord, please remove the blindfold Satan has put on this person’s eyes. Please open his ears. Otherwise, he will not see the real issues and he won’t hear your voice.”

No one can comprehend God (Rom. 11:34), but by his Spirit, believers have insight into some of God’s plans, thoughts, and actions. They, in fact, “have the mind of Christ” By the Holy Spirit, we can begin to know his thoughts, discuss them with him, and expect his answers to our prayers. Are you spending enough time with Christ to have his mind in you? An intimate relationship with Christ comes only from consistent time spent in his presence and in His Word.

Necessity of a discerning spirit: “Believe not every spirit, but try the spirit” means we shouldn’t believe every thing we hear just because someone says it is a message inspired by God. Perfect Mature Love requires discernment. Perfect Love requires that we test the spirits in order that we don’t fall prey to those who would seek to lure us away from the simplicity of the Gospel. There are many ways to test teachers to see if their message is

truly from God. One is to check their words with what God says in the Bible. Other tests include their commitment to the body of believers (2:19), their life-style (3:23-24), and the fruit of their ministry (4:6). But the most important test of all, says John, is what they believe about Christ. Do they teach that Jesus is fully God and fully man? Our world is filled with voices claiming to speak for God. Give them these tests to see if they are indeed speaking God’s truth. If a teaching, suggestion or thought is of the Spirit of God, it will affirm both the deity and the humanity of Christ.